Boots or no boots on rancho 9Ks

Just wondering if anyone has had any trouble with leaving the hard plastic boots on the rear shocks. I'm gonna get rid of my fronts for sure.
 
WJCO said:
The boot is designed to keep dirt and crap out so the piston shaft of the shock doesn't get scratched as it moves up and down inside the seal eventually causing wear and leakage. HOWEVER, if dirt/mud gets trapped inside the boot (which commonly happens), then you have just made the problem worse because it doesn't come out. I've always ran boots on shocks up until a few months ago. One of my zip ties on the boot was loose but the boot was still on the shock body. Just for kicks I pulled the boot off and peeked inside and it was nasty inside. I decided to cut it off, turns out all four shock boots were the same. I've known enough guys over the years that run without them without a problem, so mine are staying off for now, I can clean them off with a pressure washer if needed.
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Might just do that also and if I see the shaft is looking bad I will take the boots off also
 
reviving this for a quick question.... being up in montreal, we get a shitload of sand and salt put on the roads durring winter. anyone in the northern parts care to chime in on if theyve had any trouble when having the boots off? if not, theyre coming off tonight!
 
christov11 said:
reviving this for a quick question.... being up in montreal, we get a shitload of sand and salt put on the roads durring winter. anyone in the northern parts care to chime in on if theyve had any trouble when having the boots off? if not, theyre coming off tonight!
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I don't have Ranchos but I don't run boots on mine either. No issues with rust and they LOVE to salt our roads here in Western PA. The chrome they use on the shock rods seems to hold up pretty well. If you're worried just make sure to keep the shafts waxed & clean ;)
 
I run the boots (weird :blush:) for many of the reasons WJCO mentioned.
I keep the front boots "floppy" not zip tied.
I just like to keep the rod protected as much as possible.
Out here in CO it is mainly to keep the mag chloride off during the winter, but I also try to keep the undercarriage clean during the winter too.
My :twocents:

Just so there is no confusion, I live in CO but HQ is in SoCal.
 
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Rancho said:
I run the boots (weird :blush:) for many of the reasons WJCO mentioned.
I keep the front boots "floppy" not zip tied.
I just like to keep the rod protected as much as possible.
Out here in CO it is mainly to keep the mag chloride off during the winter, but I also try to keep the undercarriage clean during the winter too.
My :twocents:
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How do you like running them "floppy"? just curious ;)
 
Rancho said:
I run the boots (weird :blush:) for many of the reasons WJCO mentioned.
I keep the front boots "floppy" not zip tied.
I just like to keep the rod protected as much as possible.
Out here in CO it is mainly to keep the mag chloride off during the winter, but I also try to keep the undercarriage clean during the winter too.
My :twocents:

Just so there is no confusion, I live in CO but HQ is in SoCal.
Click to expand...

Floppy and Rod. :cheesy:

I'm immature, I know.
 
looks like I'll be doing a simple mod tonight after work, removing my shock boots... thanks for bumping this thread! One was torn on the last wheeling trip anyway. :thumb:
 
Well after several months without boots on the front shocks i can say i haven't had any issues and there is no sign of rust on the shafts even with regular drives on the beach. I would have preferred to leave them on and loose which is what i did on my WJ but they still collected lots of mud.

I left the rears on because being a hard boot they protect the shaft without trapping dirt and the rear shocks are more likely to get stones thrown at them from the front tyres. My factory rear shocks had no paint left after 30k kms from the dirt roads
 
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